Alleged shooter of Navy SEAL Tasered after being aggressive with jailers

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/Erath County Sheriff's Department

Eddie Routh, 25, is being held on a $3 million bond at Erath County Jail. He is suspected of killing Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield at a point-blank range while the three men were practicing at a gun range Saturday afternoon.

Former Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, who survived four deployments in Iraq and was the deadliest sharpshooter in American history, was killed Saturday not in combat, but by a fellow veteran he was trying to help, authorities said.

Investigators say Eddie Ray Routh, a 25-year-old Iraq war veteran and Marine, shot Kyle and Chad Littlefield of Midlothian on Saturday at a Rough Creek Lodge and Resort shooting range, about 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth.

Kyle, a Texas native and decorated veteran who wrote the best-selling autobiography American Sniper, spent much of his time helping veterans, including many with post-traumatic stress disorder. Routh’s mother, a schoolteacher, may have contacted Kyle to help her son, said Erath County Sheriff Tommy Bryant at a Sunday news conference.

“We have an idea that that’s why they were at the range, for some kind of therapy that Mr. Kyle assists people with,” Bryant said. He couldn’t confirm if Routh had post-traumatic stress disorder or was on medication.

Routh was arrested Saturday night and faces two counts of capital murder. His bond was set at $3 million. He had not confessed, and his motive remained unknown, police said.

“I don’t know that we’ll ever know,” Capt. Jason Upshaw with the Erath County Sheriff’s Office said. “He’s the only one that knows that.”

Erath County jailers used a Taser on Routh on Sunday night after he became aggressive, Bryant said.

After dinner, Routh refused to give guards his tray. When jailers tried to get it, Routh “was trying to attack them,” he said.

Routh was placed in a restraint chair in his solitary cell. He is on suicide watch. Threats have been made against Routh, Bryant said.

Kyle, 38, and Littlefield, 35, were neighbors and workout buddies, according to Travis Cox, director of the nonprofit FITCO Cares Foundation, which Kyle helped found. Both were married with children.

Kyle picked up Routh from his Lancaster home Saturday morning, neighbors said. The three men arrived at the Erath County gun range around 3:15 p.m. and were shooting in a remote part of the range, police said.

A hunting guide later found Kyle and Littlefield dead around 5 p.m. and called 911. Both men were shot more than once at close range, but police couldn’t say how many times. Autopsies were pending Sunday.

Police chase

Officials say Routh left the gun range in Kyle’s pickup and drove to the home of his sister and brother-in-law in Midlothian, where he told them what he had done. When he left, the two called police.

When police arrived at Routh’s home in Lancaster around 8 p.m. and tried to talk to him, Routh got into the pickup and tried to flee. The pursuit ended with his arrest close to 9 p.m. near Interstate 35E and Camp Wisdom Road.

Authorities found a semi-automatic handgun at Routh’s home, which they believe he used to kill Kyle and Littlefield. They don’t know whether he owned the weapon.

Routh was unemployed, police said.

In September, Lancaster police responded to an incident at his home regarding verbal threats. Last month, Routh pled guilty to driving while intoxicated in Johnson County, according to court records.

Kyle had his own struggles after returning from Iraq. He found it hard to adjust to civilian life and was depressed. His journey inspired him to help other veterans by taking them on trips to shoot, hunt or relax.

“If these guys are out there sacrificing for me, I feel like it’s my duty to give to them when they come home — no matter what it’ll be,” Kyle told The Dallas Morning News in 2012.

Kyle started Dallas-based security firm Craft International, which hosted training events at the gun range where he was killed. Kyle also helped found FITCO Cares Foundation, which provides home exercise equipment to injured veterans and those struggling with PTSD.

He appeared on the NBC reality TV show Stars Earn Stripes last year. On the show, celebrities were paired with current and former military members and competed in challenges.

Lending an ear

Kyle’s friends were struggling to understand his death.

“It’s like a Shakespearean tragedy,” said Rorke Denver, who served in SEAL Team 3 with Kyle in 2006. “He has been in harm’s way more than warriors dream of being in, to then come home, be off of active duty and continue to serve and work with people who were dealing with trauma.”

“It’s just tragic and ironic that someone who is a teammate, a veteran, a fellow warrior turned on him and ended a life of service.”

But Denver said he understood why the men were on the shooting range, because shooting can be a way for veterans to bond. “It’s a skill set that becomes very comfortable,” he said. “It can be a very relaxing and cathartic thing.”

Victor Vandam of Athens, who survived an IED explosion in Iraq in 2009, met Kyle at a Wounded Warrior retreat in Oklahoma. Unlike civilian volunteers, Vandam said Kyle was truly able to connect with veterans.

“You can sit in a room and talk to a psychologist who has never been in a situation like that in their life,” Vandam said. “But talking to someone who has been in the same position as you, it’s unheard of. That’s what Chris always did.”

Kyle is survived by his wife, Taya, and two children. Littlefield, who Cox described as a gentle, kind-hearted man, is also survived by his family. His wife, Leanne, is an assistant principal at Walnut Grove Middle School in Midlothian.

“It was just two great guys with Chad and Chris trying to help out a veteran in need and making time out of their day to help him. And to give him a hand. And unfortunately this thing happened,” Cox said.

Staff writer Eden Stiffman, The New York Times and The Associated Press contributed to this report.